The Japanese cryptocurrency Spindle, known for being promoted by the Japanese popular singer, actor and talent Gakuto Oshiro (45), aka GACKT, has announced it’s withdrawing from Tokyo to relocate its headquarters in London, amidst rumors that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police is investigating unregistered sales of cryptocurrencies made by the company.

Japanese crypto exchanges may soon have an official self-regulatory body. The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association has applied with the country’s financial regulator to become the authority for self-regulation, with the power to enforce rules on its crypto exchange members.

Withcoin, a virtual currency reportedly designed for casinos, and listed on the Hitbtc exchange around May, is accused of selling coins using a promotional video propagating alleged lies and misleading information. In April 2018, a video promoting Withcoin went viral on the internet, inviting investors to purchase in advance a coin that was going to be listed on a crypto exchange in May, the message said.

Japan’s internet giant GMO has released the latest results of its cryptocurrency mining operation. The company has also started using 7nm rigs for its in-house mining business. News.Bitcoin.com talked to a GMO spokesperson to find out more details.

1906 BTC and 636 BCH Mined

GMO has released its mining report for June. According to the report, the company has mined 1,906 BTC and 636 BCH since its mining operation began in December last year; 528 BTC and 62 BCH were mined in June.

Japan’s top financial regulator has responded to media reports that it is considering overhauling the way cryptocurrency is regulated in the country. The authority has been under fire for the inadequacy of its crypto exchange registration process after it issued business improvement orders to a number of exchanges it previously approved.

FSA Reportedly Considering New Crypto Law

On Tuesday, June 3, the Sankei Shimbun reported that Japan’s top financial regulator, the Financial Services Agency (FSA), is considering overhauling the way cryptocurrency is regulated in the country. The news outlet claims that the FSA is mulling over switching from using the revised fund settlement law to the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act (FIEA), elaborating: Read more...

Reports have confirmed that Japan has been targeted by cybercriminals using phishing, or illegal acquisition of personal information, to steal cryptocurrencies by sending fake emails to crypto exchange users. Fake emails sent in Japanese language reportedly rose to at least 1,500 by last autumn.

Back in May, Bitflyer was warning its customers that fake emails used by cybercriminals were redirecting their victims to phishing websites that looked like authentic Bitflyer pages, which requested customers to enter their IDs and passwords. These were then collected by the criminals. Bitflyer received a serious business improvement order by the FSA on June 22.Read more...

Yukio Noguchi, a famous economist in Japan and an advisor to Waseda University’s Business and Finance Research Center argues we can’t expect Bitcoin’s prices to rapidly surge again. In his books and in recent articles, Noguchi makes his case eloquently. He wrote a recent article in Diamond Weekly clarifying his position but has been making his case since January of this year and published a book last December.

Crypto exchange Huobi notified its Japanese customers via e-mail on Wednesday that it will be closing accounts of users who are residents of Japan. According to Huobi, their decision came up as a result of compliance issues with the Japanese law.

No Japanese Traders on Huobi

Huobi Pro reportedly plans to remove the Japanese page from its website as of July 2, and stop providing trading services to Japanese residents. Although the announcement is not yet visible on the official company homepage, further details are expected to appear in the coming hours, a Telegram administrator for Huobi said.Read more...

The Japanese Police have been cracking down on users of remote mining software apps, such as Coinhive, without their website visitors’ consent. After being investigated and having their property impounded, users are speaking up about the unfairness of the investigation.

Problems with the Investigations and Arrests

The Japanese police have been actively investigating website owners using programs such as Coinhive to mine cryptocurrencies without their site visitors’ consent. Recently, the police from 10 prefectures reportedly caught 16 people using such programs; three were arrested while the others had their information sent to the prosecutors. Read more...

The association comprising of 16 government-approved cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan has reportedly provided a sneak peak of its self-regulatory rules. The focuses are on banning insider trading and preventing exchanges from listing privacy coins.

Insider Trading Banned

The Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (JVCEA) has given a sneak peak of the draft self-regulatory rules it has been working on, “in an effort to step up consumer protections and improve transparency,” Nikkei reported on Monday. The main focuses of the new regulations are on “insider trading and the trading of new currencies that cannot be traced easily,” the publication detailed, adding: Read more...